Pivotal hook clamp



Fb- 28, 1950 c. J. KRAJENKA 2,498,858

PIVOTAL HOOK CLAMP Filed April 11, 1947 Patented Feb. 28, 1950 CasimirJ. Krajenl-rar,I Detroit, Mich.,- assigncr to BriggsiManufacturingCompanyDetroit,.Mich., acorporaticn of Michigan e Application April 11,1947*,l Serial No, '140,883'

2- Claims.

The present invention relates to an. improved clamping device whichisespecially useful for engaging a member or object subjected to amotivating forcev and holding it in place against that-force; forinstance, it may anchor a movable conveyor'chain for facilitating itsrepair.

In order to` secure al movable' object against undesired movemenir or tocause it to move as desired, it.y is, of? course, necessary to operablyconnect it with some: other object or means. How toy effect such aconnection has given rise to some.v diii'lculti problems-,- however.'For eX- .amplep in repairing a movable conveyor chain,fit has-been thepractice tio-employ complicated and cumbersome block and' tacklearrangementsy for holding: the chain in place'. Heretofore', no prac'-tical. andi` simple` device, suchV as ai chain provided withv suitalzfleattaching means'p hasy been suggestedifor securing' the conveyor chainto. avv fixed support to allow its disconnected sections toKVV bebrought.v together;

It: is;` therefora, one of. the objects ofi the present'. invention toovercome: the usual difficulties encountered in'- attaci-iing a chainor'the like in izilactf or to' minimize suclrdiilrculties to animportant extent. and, in so doing; to` provide a simple but sturen7clamping; device including; a movable element orelements' whichl beiactu ated. readily'to/ place. the:I device in an operative position orans inoperative position, as desired..

- Itisf another objectzof the: invention toY provide an improvedf clampAaniapit'ed;A to bev attached to one of the loose ends: ot a;brokenxconveyor chain for' holding it' securely toav fixed support' theclampbengespecially' constructed and arranged (or. ca -7.3)"

to allow theconveyor to beop'eratedf-forbringing the broken; ends'.Aof.` theI chain together: and; holdiing them there` While the necessaryrepairs# are made. y Another object ofI the invention'` is to provideaclamping device of the foregoing generalV char'- aeter which. issimplyA constructed and inexpenp sive bu'ctruggedl andi durable', whichmay beI maneuvered4 or manipulatedy readily, andv which.'` is easy tooperate; especiallytol release, since itis adapted tcr-l disengagefitself.' from thezmembers heldin place: by'it.v

It: is a somewhat more specific obiect of the invention to; provide: aclampingf devicehaving; a iixedi hooked element'` extending in onedirection and a swingable htookedi elementextending' in anotherdirectiorn. therefore providing a clamp which isxeasy'tremovabinattaclizto the member .onmembers witlr whichlitfoperatese: c isaniabjectfothesinrentiontoiprevideav simple but sturdy locking arm ordetent making it certain that the clamping device re.- mains in itsclosed or operative position when desired, but' which may be movedreadily and forcifullyl, if necessary', toopen the clamp for releasingit.

Other objects of this inventionv will. appear. in the followingdescription and, appendedy claims, reference being hady to theaccompanying drawings forming ar part of this specification whereinlikel reference characters designate correspond ing partsl in theseveral views;

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of aV portion of a chain conveyor illustratingone installation of a clamping device constructed in accordance-with thepresent invention.

Fig. 2' is a' topfplanf Viewl ofv the clamp utilized inthe installationshown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3` isa side1 elevation ofthe clamp show-n in Fig-,23. the partsthereof when in their closed Orr-operative positionl being shownA insolid lines, and when in their open or inoperative position being shownindottedlines.

Before explaining in detail the presentI invention, it is to beunderstood thattheinvention is not limited inv yits application tothedetails of construction and arrangement or parts illus trated in theaccompanying drawings, since the invention is: capable of other'embodiments and of beingpracticed or carriedout in various ways. Also',it isito understood that the'f phraseology orvtenninology employedherein isv forv the purposeoi' description and` not of limitation.

In thedi'awings, there is illustrated by way of example one;clarnlgiing4 device constructed in" accordance' withy the presentinvention. This clamping device includes a'. generally plate-like baset0'- which carriesati-hook shown as` a whole 4at" Il'.` Thefslianl: lf2ofthe-hook M is joined to the base HI s'othat'the'hook Ifi occupies aposi"- ticn normal' to the plane' of the base. Accordingly; when thebase is generally horizontalhr positioned; the hook is generallyvertically posi"- tione'd'in' the` manner illustrated in the draw ings'.The shank' l2 may be integrally formed with the base [0 or it may besecured thereto' by .any suitable connecting means provided that asecure and strong; attachment is effected. The shank I2- merges. into anarcuate arm or hook portion ,I Bf whichY terminates in a blunt endspaced from the shank t2- sothat the hook por- .tion Iiop'ensorfaces'rearwardly; that-issin the direction: -cf-r the.I base: lut).y sAccording-13a', the: hook tls is' convei'uently" arranged@ tw engage a:member with which the clamping device ls to be lused, as explained morefully hereinafter.

At the end of the base I oppositely disposed from the hook II, there isprovided a generally longitudinally extending recess I4. Received withinthe recess I4 is an angle arm I5 extending from the comparativelyelongated body portion I9 of a swingable supporting bar indicatedgenerally at I6. The supporting bar I6 carries a second hook I'I havinga shank 20, arcuate arm or hook portion 2| opening forwardly, and bluntend which are similar in structure to the corresponding parts of thehookl `I I. The shank 20 is firmly secured to the outer surface of thevsupporting bar I6 by suitable means, such as welding, and the hook I'Ifaces the hook II and is also normal to the plane of the body I0.Although the hooks II and I1 are coplanar, they project in oppositedirections, that is, one extends downwardly while the other extendsupwardly when the body Il! and supporting barv I6 are horizontallypositioned.

The angle arm I5 of the supporting bar I6 is provided with atransversely extending bore which registers'with a pair .of transverselyextending openings, one of the latter being located at each side of thebase I0 and extending through a wall thereof into the recess I4.Accordingly, a suitable hinge pin or the like, shown at I8, passesthrough the aligned openings mentioned to hold the bar I6 in assembledrelationship with the base I8. But the bar I6 mayswing or rotate aboutthis hinge pin I8.

The end of the body I9 of the bar I6 oppositely disposed from the anglearm I5 is provided with a longitudinally extending recess 22. Thisrecess 22 is adapted to overlie and in general to register with a slot23 in the body I0. Received within the slot 23 is a detent or lockingarm shown as a whole at 24. The detent is held within the slot 23 by ahinge pin 25 extending through suitably aligned openings in the walls ofthe body I0 and in the hub portion of the detent. The detent 24 isprovided with a comparatively narrow shank 26 which is adapted to twithin the recess 22, and with a comparatively heavy enlarged head 2l.The head 2'I extends transversely to overlie the walls of the lockingbar I6 and is wider than the recess 22. Thus, it is adapted to contactthe top surface of the body portion I9 of the bar I8 at the spacedprongs I9a (Fig. 2) thereof for holding the bar I6 down upon the body i0when the clamp is closed, as shown in Fig. 2 and as explained more fullyhereinafter.

The way' in which the present clamping device is utilized for holding aconveyor chain to facilitate its repair is best illustrated in Fig-1. Asthere shown,'the clamping device is placed in its closed position, thatis, the locking bar I6 is swung into a position closely adjacent to andoverlying the base I0 and is held therein by the detent 24. The latteris swung into its upright or locking position in which the shank 28 fitsinto the recess 22 in the body portion I9 of the bar I6. The head 21serves as a fixed abutment against which the top of the two extendingprongs I9a of the body portion I9 press and are held down. Thus, the barI6 is held in place closely adjacent the body I0. The hook II is placedin engagement with a suitable support such as the cross bar 28 of theconveyor mechanism, and an eye or link forming a part of the chain 29 isplaced in engagement with the hook I1. The chain 29 issuitably securedto one of the broken ends ofthe conveyor chain 30;v for-example,

4 the hook 3| may be employed. Accordingly, the starting mechanism ofthe conveyor may be operated to rotate the sprocket 32 in the directionof the arrow (Fig. 1) to draw or force the two ends of the conveyorchain to approach each other, the hook 3I, chain 29, and the presentlydiscussed clamping mechanism serving to rigidly secure oneof thebrolrenlends to the support 28 as the other end is moved toward it.Eventually,

the two ends of the chain are brought into close proximity so that thenecessary repairs may be made.

After the conveyor chain 30 has been repaired, the chain 29 may beloosened or freed by the simple expedient of swinging the detent 24 fromits locking position to its released position; that is, from the uprightposition shown in solid lines of Fig. 3 to the inclined positionindicated by dotted lines in the sameview. The detent may be swung intoits released position in any appropriate way; but considerable pull isoften exerted upon the hook Il by the chain 29, or its equivalent,attached to the hook. In this'event, the body I9 of the swingable bar I5may be held against the Lmderside of the head 21 of the detentl 24 withquite a bit of force. Thus, the detent may be driven into its releasedposition if necessary; for instance, it may be `struck with a hammer orsledge, and it is constructed to withstand such a blow. When the detentis released, the pull exerted by the conveyor chain 30 upon the hook IIthrough the medium of the hook 3! and chain 29 will immediately swingthe bar IE about its hinge pin I8 into the position generally indicatedby the dotted lines of Fig. 3. Such movement of the bar IB will,'ofcourse, loosen the chain 29, the hook 3I, and the presently discussedclamping mechanism so that all of these elements either fall away fromthe chain 38 or may be removed very easily.

While the present clamping mechanism has been discussed chiefly inconnection with anchoring the lconveyor' chain 3B to the support 28, itwill be understood that the device may be used for other purposes. It isconsidered evident that other connecting or restraining memberscomparable to the chain 29 may be attached to the clamping device; and,in fact, it is adapted for a wide variety of uses in which it isnecessary to secure or anchor one member to another one. The clampingdevice may be directly attached to a pair of members to interconnectthem, or it may be used, in general, to nll a need in which some meansis required to hold a member or members in place against a force exertedupon them. The present clamping device is very simply constructed but issturdy and rugged nevertheless, and it may be operated conveniently.

I claim:

l. A clamping device comprising a lower member and an upper memberpivoted together at corresponding ends to permit the upper member toswing from a position above and substantially parallel to the lowermember upwardly and outwardly to separate said members, an upper hooksecured to the pivoted end of the upper member at a locality above thepivotal connection between the members, a lower hook secured to the endof the lower member remote from said pivotal connection, said hooks onthe upper and lower members having hook portions disposed respectivelyAabove and below said members and opening in opposite-directions, and adetent pivoted to the lower memberv adjacent the hook' thereon Aandswingable from a` released position immediately above said lower hookupwardly to a position in which it releas'ably locks said memberstogether in superimposed relation.

2. A clampingvdevice comprising a lower member and an upper memberpivoted together at corresponding ends to permit the upper member toswing from a position above and substantially parallel to the lowermember upwardly and outwardly to separate said members, an upper hooksecured to the pivoted end of the upper member at a locality above thepivotal connection between the members, a lower hook secured to the endof the lower member remote from said pivotal connection, said hooks onthe upper and lower members having hook portions disposed respectivelyabove and below said members and opening in opposite directions, and adetent pivoted to the lower member adjacent the hook thereon andswingable from a released position immediately above said lower hookupwardly into a retaining slot in the free end of the upper member toreleasably look said members together in superimposed relation.

CASIMIR J. KRAJENKA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 462,721 Monroe Nov. 10, 1891647,952 Fantroy Apr. 24, 1900 1,428,775 Goetz Sept. 12, 1922 1,498,239I-Iudgins June 17, 1924

